New Delhi: Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will lock horns against Harmanpreet Kaur's Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday.
The Bengaluru-based franchise won just two matches in their previous five games and ended the league in third place on the WPL standings with 8 points. Mandhana's side played eight league games and won four matches in the second season of the tournament.
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On the other hand, Mumbai ended the league in second place with 10 points after winning 5 of 8 matches. In their previous five matches, Harmanpreet's side won three games.
RCB are coming into this game after sealing a 7-wicket win over Mumbai on March 12. The previous win will surely boost the RCB's confidence before they face off again in the eliminator.
RCB started the tournament with good form and won two consecutive matches. However, they lost a moment from the third game and lost to Delhi Capitals and MI in their third and fourth match of the WPL 2024.
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Throughout the ongoing season, Mandhana's side failed to maintain momentum.
At the same time, the Mumbai-based franchise also failed to keep momentum in the WPL 2024. They kicked off the second season of WPL with a win against Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Giants in the opening two matches of the tournament. But later, conceded defeat against UP Warriorz, DC and RCB.
In WPL 2024, the two sides faced each other two times. In the first encounter, MI won by 7 wickets on March 02. Meanwhile, in the second game, RCB took their revenge and sealed a victory by 7 wickets.
Recapping the previous RCB vs MI match, Ellyse Perry's historic first-ever six-wicket haul in the WPL helped RCB qualify for playoffs after beating defending champions MI by seven wickets at Delhi.
The winner of the upcoming eliminator match of WPL 2024 will play against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the finals on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians Squad: Hayley Matthews, S Sajana, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Priyanka Bala (Wk), Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque, Chloe Tryon, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Issy Wong, Yastika Bhatia, Jintimani Kalita, Amandeep Kaur.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Smriti Mandhana (C), Sophie Molineux, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Richa Ghosh (Wk), Georgia Wareham, Disha Kasat, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Shraddha Pokharkar, Renuka Thakur Singh, Simran Bahadur, Indrani Roy, Shubha Satheesh, Nadine de Klerk, Sabbhineni Meghana, Kate Cross, Ekta Bisht. (ANI)
